Chapter 231: Cutting Steel
Chapter 231: Cutting Steel
In the rear courtyard of the training hall, Caelum swung his sword alone without pause.
Swordsmanship: Proficiency plus 1
Swordsmanship: Proficiency plus 1
Swordsmanship: Proficiency plus 1
The disciples of the training hall, Cerys included, all found it unbelievable.
They had never once seen Caelum practice sword techniques, yet his strength was absurd.
Every day, he either swung his sword or sat in meditation.
They could not understand it.
Even the master could not understand it.
In the end, he could only attribute it to Caelum’s talent.
If anyone else trained like that, it would simply be a waste of time.
At that moment, the young swordsman easily vaulted over the wall and landed in the rear courtyard.
Caelum remained focused and continued swinging his sword as though he had not seen him.
The young swordsman noticed Caelum’s lack of reaction, and instead of taking offense, he watched Caelum practice with interest.
The longer he looked, the more serious his expression became.
He admitted that his previous judgment had been wrong.
Even in a rural place like Hartstead, a true expert could indeed appear.
Caelum’s grip and the path of each swing were flawless.
More importantly, the young swordsman sensed something from him that only the strong possessed.
It was difficult to describe clearly, but that was the truth.
He did not know what it was, so he could only call it the aura of a strong fighter.
The young swordsman had no idea what this meant.
His keen perception was an extremely powerful talent.
Not everyone could sense another person’s aura.
The ability to strongly perceive the presence of others was precisely one of the powers of Observation Haki.
This meant he possessed an exceptional talent for Observation Haki.
Like a shark smelling blood, the young swordsman immediately grew excited.
The competitive spirit of a swordsman stirred within him, and he nearly drew his blade on the spot.
He held back the impulse and introduced himself first, speaking to Caelum with complete ease.
"My name is Cedran. Kid, what is yours?"
Caelum stopped swinging.
"Morven."
Clang!
An excited smile spread across Cedran’s face.
He immediately drew the longsword at his waist, fighting spirit surging.
"I sensed the aura of a strong fighter. I will skip the unnecessary talk. How about a match?"
"Wait here."
Caelum did not refuse Cedran’s request.
After looking him over, he returned to the training hall and took out Cloudrend.
The disciples froze when they saw this.
"Why did Morven take out Cloudrend?"
"Let us go see!"
"I feel like something exciting is about to happen!"
When they heard that Caelum had actually brought out Cloudrend, Cerys and the master both came over in curiosity.
Before long, the rear courtyard was filled with people.
No one cared who Cedran was or where he had come from.
Cerys and the others only knew one thing.
Caelum had drawn Cloudrend for him.
Cerys said solemnly, "Is this person strong?"
The master nodded.
"His strength is decent."
Cerys asked, "Master, who do you think is stronger, him or Morven?"
"We will know once they fight."
Clang!
The instant Caelum drew Cloudrend, everyone nearby felt the hair on their bodies stand on end.
Even the master felt a trace of alarm.
"This kid..."
The master could not help smiling.
This disciple of his might be even stronger than he had imagined.
He had actually made even the master sense danger.
Cerys’s eyes burned as she focused completely.
At last, she had a chance to see Caelum’s true strength.
The stronger Caelum was, the more excited Cedran became.
"I have met quite a few people with an aura like yours. Without exception, they all became my defeated opponents. Today, you will not be the exception."
Caelum replied, "The world is far larger than you imagine. Your vision is still too narrow, which is why you can still lose yourself in such insignificant joy."
"Now that is arrogant."
Cedran had absolute confidence in himself and felt nothing from Caelum’s words.
No matter how strong a swordsman was, how strong could they truly be?
Could they split a mountain apart?
The two faced each other for a moment.
Cedran could not wait any longer and made the first move.
In the next instant, Caelum moved.
No one saw how he drew his blade.
They only felt a flash of light cross their vision.
Then the battle was already decided.
Crack!
The longsword in Cedran’s hand snapped into two pieces.
The cut was smooth and perfectly even.
At the same time, a savage slash appeared across his chest.
Even the steel armor over his chest had been cut in half.
Blood burst from the wound and sprayed out, staining the ground beneath him red.
Cedran collapsed weakly with disbelief in his eyes and lost consciousness.
Before he blacked out, there was only one thought in his mind.
So he had been the frog in the well.
"What... just happened?"
Cerys stood frozen and had yet to recover from her shock.
"He actually cut through a blade. Is Cloudrend really that sharp?"
"No."
The master shook his head.
Caelum’s figure, already sheathing his blade, reflected in his eyes.
He explained to Cerys, "The point is not whether Cloudrend is sharp."
"Even if Morven had held an ordinary blade, he still would have cut through steel."
"You mean..."
"Steel Cutting. It is a Realm."
Only then did Cerys understand the next direction her swordsmanship had to take.
Several days later, Cedran woke inside Hartstead’s clinic.
Bandages were wrapped around his chest.
He was rather surprised to find himself still alive.
The old doctor said to him, "Fortunately, the slash avoided all your vital areas. If it had gone even a little deeper, you might not have lasted until they brought you here."
Cedran was silent for a moment.
Then he laughed.
"Whether he held back or I was simply lucky, I survived either way. That is fate. Taking that slash was worth it."
Through sheer willpower, he ignored the pain in his body and climbed out of bed as though nothing was wrong.
He put on his light armor and walked out of the clinic.
The old doctor hurriedly shouted after him, "Your injuries are not ready for walking yet!"
"Nonsense. I am fine, am I not?"
"Do not do any intense movement. Your wound will split open!"
"Got it."
On the road, Cedran ran into another guard from the caravan.
He spoke with easy decisiveness.
"Do me a favor and pass on a message. I quit. I do not need the payment either."
"Huh?"
The other guard stared blankly.
Cedran arrived at the training hall once again.
Without another word, he joined as a disciple.
There was no reason to reject business that came to the door.
The master accepted this new disciple without hesitation.
From that day onward, Cedran became Caelum’s fellow disciple.
After Cerys, one more person began chasing after Caelum’s back.
Compared with Cerys’s stubbornness and seriousness, Cedran was far more carefree and direct.
There was also a touch of arrogance in his bones.
More accurately, his pride was unusually strong.
Yet for the sake of swordsmanship and becoming stronger, he could set that pride aside.
Both of them seemed born to become swordsmen.